Abstract:

The emotional state of health of pre-operative patients about to have coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is a decisive factor in the outcome of the procedure.
Nel (1989) carried out quantitative research to determine the effect of a pre-operative education programme on CABG patients. This education programme is based on the fact that a person's emotional disposition is a critical variable in his successful recovery from coronary disease. However, the researcher is of the opinion that although Nel's study made a positive contribution regarding this phenomenon, a quantitative research design does not reflect the real experience of the patients that follow a pre-operative education programme. In the researcher's view, a qualitative research design is more appropriate.
The aim of the present qualitative, exploring, descriptive, contextual research is to explore and describe the experience of CABG patients exposed to a pre-operative education programme and to lay down guidelines for nursing staff in practice The research was conducted in three phases. One private hospital in Pretoria was use for the research.